2/29/2012

One of Stan Lee's most popular and enduring creations is The Incredible Hulk. The idea of being able to unleash your anger by transforming into a super-strong powerhouse is a great revenge fantasy. Stan Lee gets a lot of credit for conceiving of such a brilliant concept that taps into a collective idea.

The Gray Hulk's first words

The truth, though, is that most people have never read the Incredible Hulk series from the beginning. I happened to get a digital collection of Hulk and was surprised by his original incarnation. In fact, after reading several issues, I came to the inescapable conclusion that Stan Lee had no idea what to do with the Hulk character at first. The premise of the Hulk changes radically over the first five issues.

In the first two issues, things start out pretty much as we've always heard. Bruce Banner is changed into the Hulk due to a gamma bomb explosion. But in the first and second issues, the Hulk is gray, not green. Hulk also can talk and has his own goal; to conquer the world. As if that weren't enough, Hulk's transformation is triggered by the day cycle, not emotion. During the day, he's Bruce Banner, but transforms into the Hulk at night. The idea was probably to make the Hulk like a werewolf, but the problem is that it makes Hulk predictable. In fact, Banner and Jones make a very smart decision. They build a huge bunker with a huge door and Banner locks himself into it at night, ensuring that Hulk can't get out to cause trouble.

Hulk in prison

Rick Jones gets a Napoleon complex

That may be why in issue three, a bizarre event occurs. As a way of getting rid of the Hulk, General Ross talks Rick Jones into luring the Hulk into a spaceship to blast him off Earth. He succeeds, and the Hulk is bathed in cosmic rays (Lee's old standby). When the Hulk crashes back onto Earth, Rick Jones tangles with the Hulk and discovers he's been profoundly changed. The Hulk no longer transforms back into Bruce Banner, and has become a mindless zombie that Rick Jones can control with his mind.

I can just imagine Lee's editor going, "The kids aren't into that nerd, Bruce Banner. Rick Jones is the one they can really identify with. Let's make him the hero, instead." At this point, the Hulk becomes a sort of fantasy where Jones has a super-strong monster at his command. In issue three and four, the Hulk is Rick's slave, and Rick starts fighting super-villains by proxy.

The Hulk's Superman impression

It's also where they start playing a little loose with the premise. It's established early that Hulk can travel by jumping, but they cheat a little bit - Hulk changes direction in mid-air! That's not jumping, that's flying.

Anyway, back to the story. At issue five, even this premise seems to get stale, because it changes radically again. Maybe the same editor says, "This doesn't work. Hulk is supposed to be the hero, not Rick. And what happened to Banner?" So Rick manages to turn Hulk back to Banner, who decides to expose himself to gamma radiation again. This transforms him back into the Hulk, except he now has the mind of Bruce Banner. Sort of. When he changes into Hulk, he's got this weird fusion personality where he's got the brains of Banner, the bad attitude of the Grey Hulk, and an accent like Bugs Bunny. It's the most bizarre change of all.

Rick and Hulk have great chemistry

Of course, the Hulk is still pretty awesome with his picking up tanks and bouncing bullets off his skin, so the character endured and eventually became the Hulk we all know and love. But it took a while to get there.

Share your opinion of who played the best Catwoman (Selina Kyle) from Batman.

After the Academy Awards this year, Sean Young made headlines for alledgedly slapping a security guard at an After-Party. She's had a long career, but all the articles reminded of her infamous campaign for the role of Catwoman in Tim Burton's Batman Returns.

It made me wonder. Anne Hathaway is playing Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

2/28/2012

OUR EXPLANATION: In his search for a legendary artifact called the Crystal Clock, Indiana Jones is caught in a nuclear explosion. By hiding in a lead-lined fridge with the mystical clock, Indiana survives the explosion, but is thrown forward in time, and ends up aboard the Death Star. Indiana knocks out a stormtrooper and puts on the armor as a disguise, becoming INDIANA STORMTROOPER.

We got a press release from an awesome blogger, Alex J. Cavanaugh, about the release of his latest book CassaFire and an awesome contest he's hosting. It's a sequel to his book CassaStarwhich has a 4.4 out of 5 rating on Amazon.

Today is the Catch Fire Blog Party,
celebrating the release of CassaFire by Alex J. Cavanaugh! The goal is to help
CassaFire “catch fire” on the best seller charts and achieve the success of the
first book, CassaStar. There’s also a special package of prizes being given away
at the author’s blog (copies of CassaFire, CassaStar, tote bag, mug, and
bookmarks) as well as book giveaways during his two-week blog tour. See Alex’s
site for details: http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

CassaFire

by Alex J.
Cavanaugh

CassaStar was just the
beginning…

The Vindicarn War is a distant
memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the
promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an
exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary
existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the
Rennather.

The detection of alien ruins sends
the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can
decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key
to the Tgren’s civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as
their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan’s technology and strange mental
abilities.

To complicate matters, the Tgrens
are showing signs of mental powers themselves; the strongest of which belongs to
a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced
to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience
strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels
invaded on every level. All Byron wanted was his privacy…

Available
today!

Science fiction - space
opera/adventure

Print ISBN 978-0-9827139-4-5,
$15.95, 6x9 Trade paperback, 240 pages

EBook ISBN 978-0-9827139-6-9, $4.99,
available in all formats

CassaFire is the sequel to Cavanaugh’s first
book, CassaStar, an Amazon Top Ten
Best Seller:

“…calls to mind the youthful focus
of Robert Heinlein’s early military sf, as well as the excitement of space opera
epitomized by the many Star
Wars novels. Fast-paced military action and a youthful protagonist make
this a good choice for both young adult and adult fans of space wars.” - Library
Journal

1. The Oscar winning Hugo is on DVD\Blu-Ray, and after all the accolades I'll definitely be catching this one.

"Hugo" tells the story of an orphan boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station. With the help of an eccentric girl, he searches for the answer to a mystery linking the father he recently lost, the ill-tempered toy shop owner living below him and a heart shaped lock, seemingly without a key. Based on Brian Selznick's award winning and imaginative New York Times bestseller, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," this magical tale is Academy Award-winner Martin
Scorsese's first film shot in 3D

2. The animated film Justice League: Doom came out today and it's chock-full of great voice actors. Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern. Tim Daly as Superman. Kevin Conroy as Batman. That alone makes it ultra-cool.

Here's the typically long press release.

The grand reunion of actors who provided the voices of the Justice League for the cartoon of the same name and its follow-up, Justice League Unlimited, includes Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series) as Batman, Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville, Breaking In) as Flash, Susan Eisenberg (Superman/Batman: Apocalypse) as Wonder Woman and Carl Lumbly (Alias) as J’onn J’onzz/Martian Manhunter. Bumper Robinson (A Different World, Transformers: Animated) joins the cast as Cyborg.

The Justice League faces two sets of villainous teams in the film – The Royal Flush Gang and a sextet of notable evildoers. The latter group includes three voice acting alumni of the Justice League animated series: Phil Morris (Smallville, Seinfeld) as Vandal Savage, Olivia d’Abo (The Wonder Years) as Star Sapphire, and Alexis Denisof (Angel) as Mirror Master. Also opposing our heroes are Carlos Alazraqui (Reno 911) as Bane, Paul Blackthorne (The Dresden Files) as Metallo, and Claudia Black (Farscape, Stargate SG-1) as Cheetah.
David Kaufman (Danny Phantom) also reprises his Justice League role of Jimmy Olsen.

The film is executive produced by Bruce Timm (Batman: Year One), and directed by Lauren Montgomery (Batman: Year One), who is also credited as producer alongside Alan Burnett (Batman: The Animated Series). Justice League: Doom is the final DC Universe film script from the late Dwayne McDuffie (All-Star Superman, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths), who passed away in February 2011. Casting and dialogue direction is once again in the capable hands of Andrea Romano (Batman: Year One, Justice League).

3. British comedian Rowan Atkinson's film Johnny English Reborn came out today as well. What's interesting is that it was a blockbuster hit abroad, but barely made a dime in the U.S. I never saw it, but the original was pretty good.

Synopsis: Fritz Lang's Spiders is about the adventures of high-society adventurer Kay Hoog
(Carl de Vogt, whose gaunt, expressionless face resembles a younger William S.
Hart) and his arch nemesis, a secret criminal organization known as the Spiders.
Part 1 (''The Golden Lake'') is a treasure hunt that takes both Kay and Spiders
mastermind Lio Sha (Ressel Orla) to Peru, where they battle primitive Incas (who
capture Lio for a human sacrifice) and each other for a fortune in hidden gold.
Part 2 (''The Diamond Ship'') is a longer and far more intricate conspiracy
involving a hidden criminal underground beneath the streets of Chinatown, a
legendary lost jewel known as the Buddha Head Diamond, and an ambitious plot to
rule all of Asia. Full of secret passages, coded messages, treasure maps,
double-crosses, and death-defying escapes, Lang's pulpy action-fantasy borrows
from the wacky serials of Louis Feuillaude (notably the deliriously entertaining
Les Vampires). But behind the wild plots, gorgeous sets, and driving,
breakneck-paced direction lies a dark undercurrent of death and doom that
transforms his gallant hero into a brooding, vengeful spirit.

The Academy Awards have come and gone and here is a list of bad sci-fi movies that stars like Christopher Plummer wants you to forget.

An Academy Award is a powerful thing. Just being nominated for an award is considered the height of an actors career. Of course, every actor has highs and lows.
In the history of all great actors are the films that they hope don't come up at parties. The films that they made when they were desperate, drunk or both.

11. Christopher Plummer - Starcrash (1978)
Christopher Plummer's career has spanned decades, but it wasn't until he reached 82 that he won an Academy Award. Maybe its because he was in the terrible Z-Movie known as Starcrash. Below the B-movie and the C-movie is the Z-movie. A film so bad B-movies make fun of it. A low budget Star Wars knock-off, it also features the "un-nominated" David Hasselhoff. Thankfully, he was in Star Trek VI as the Klingon General Chang.

10. James Earl Jones - Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)

As much as fans hate Star Wars Episode I, the worst Star Wars film is the Holiday Special. James Earl Jones was given an honorary Academy Award this year despite his decades in the industry. He famously played the voice of Darth Vader, and infamously was the voice of Vader in the TV special. Thankfully, his role on the show is brief. Unfortunately, the Wookie Lumpy and Malla had plenty of screen time. This one is kind of a pass since he didn't star in the film. Not like Ernest Borgnine.

9. Ernest Borgnine - Laser Mission (1997)
The Oscar wining character actors from such films as Escape From New York also starred in the terrible science fiction action film Laser Mission. He played a Russian scientist kidnapped by the evil Russkies to make a space laser. His horrible accent and the cheesy special effects put a damper on his Oscar, but he's laughing all the way to the bank these days.

8. Jack Nicholson - Wolf (1994)
Jack Nicholson is a consummate actor and has performed in numerous roles. He's tied with Walter Brennan for winning three Oscars. In 1994, he starred in Wolf which was loosely based the 1941 film The Wolf Man starring Lon Chaney Jr. Ironically enough, even though Lon Chaney Jr. is the greatest character actor who ever lived, he never won an Academy award. The film, about a middle aged guy getting new life from a wolf bite, didn't bite at the box office. Here's a typical scene where Jack "wolfs out" on a bunch of muggers.

7. Marlon Brando - The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
Marlon Brando set the standard for actors for generations with his powerful method acting. He played Superman's father. Ranked by the American Film Institute as the fourth greatest screen legend among male movie stars. Then, he got a little strange. In a movie about animals being turned into people, he managed to "out-strange" the whole concept. Most of the blame for this terrible movie falls on Val Kilmer for delivering a stilted performance. Brando's mumbling and fat clothes didn't help.

6. Max Von Sydow - Judge Dredd (1995)
Max Von Sydow's voice and presence are as legendary as his acting. He even played Jesus Christ in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). This year, in 2012, he was nominated for his supporting role in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Unfortunately, one of the few black spots in his career was as Judge Fargo in the film Judge Dredd. He brings all his acting skills, but can't raise the film over the horrible over-acting of Stallone. It's fun to watch his performance though. Even in the trailer Sydow is regal.

5. Russell Crowe - Virtuosity (1995)
He had three Academy Award nominations in a row (1999-2001) and won in 2001 for Gladiator. In 1995 he played the psychotic killer SID 6.7. A virtual reality program that jumps into an android and becomes a real-life serial killer. A killer so evil he has to absorb broken glass. This film is a two-for since it also starred Oscar winner Denzel Washington. It has a rotten score of 34% on Rotten Tomatoes.

4. George C. Scott - The Day of the Dolphin (1973)
George C. Scott has won numerous awards for roles like General George S. Patton and as General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. Unfortunately, in 1973, he starred in a movie about a talking dolphin that tries to kill the President. If I need to say anything else, just watch the "action packed" trailer.

3. Denzel Washington - Virtuosity (1995)
Denzel is one of the
greatest actors of our time and has two Academy Awards from Glory and
Training Day to prove it. Back in the mid-90s though he starred in a
terrible sci-fi thriller called Virtuosity. His acting skills were
overshadowed by the silly story and over-the-top acting. He tried his
best, but the tagline said it all "Justice needs a new program." He was
reprogrammed for Training Day and his Oscar winning costar Russel Crowe
became a Gladiator.

2. Ben Kingsley - A Sound of Thunder (2005)
Ben Kingsley is a highly professional actor with credits for dramatic roles in films like Ghandi and Schindler's List (1993). For some reason, he decided to play the evil businessman Charles Hattan in the adaption of the short story Sound of Thunder. The film was the actions of "time tourists" causing the world to unravel. Of all the things wrong with the film three stand out: Poor special effects, bad performances, and Ben Kingsley's hair.

1. Jon Voight - SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)
Jon Voight is known for two things: Being a three-time Oscar winning actor and bringing Angelina Jolie into the world. In 2004, he was famous for something else. He appeared in the horrible film Baby Geniuses 2 and was nominated for a "Razzie" (the Oscar for bad movies) for worst supporting actor. It's one of the few films to get a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. With a bad German accent and major over-acting he makes you forget he was ever played a paraplegic Vietnam veteran in Coming Home (1978).

That's it! From movies about killer dolphins to evil German babynappers. Those are the eleven Oscar winning actors who forced us to watch terrible sci-fi movies.

What do you think about our Oscar winners? Any great actor you've seen in really bad movies?

2/26/2012

"I'm a grumpy old Star Wars fan! I don't like things the way they are compared to the way they used to be! These kids today with their newfangled lightsaber toys! In my day, we had a flashlight with a balloon on it! And that's the way it was, and we liked it! And we didn't have lightsabers made out of solid plastic that could withstand impacts! In my day, we had a balloon, and if you hit something with it, the balloon would break, and you'd need to patch it! And eventually you couldn't patch it anymore, and it was just a flashlight! And that's the way it was, and we liked it! And we didn't have sophisticated electronics in the lightsabers that made authentic sounds from the movie based on how we swung and hit things! In my day, we had to make the noises ourselves, and we looked like idiots when we did it! And that's the way it was, and we liked it! And we didn't have multiple lightsabers that came in different colors and shapes matching the characters! We only had one lightsaber, and it looked nothing like what we saw in the movie! Because it was just a flashlight with a Star Wars sticker on it! And it only came in one color - yellow, which wasn't even a real color from the movies! And that's the way it was, and we liked it! We loved it! 'Cause we were ignorant, desperate Star Wars fans who'd buy a pile o' dog crap if it had R2-D2 on it! Hey-oh, just a bunch o' kids runnin' around with flashlights, gluing our balloons every five minutes, making stupid -swooshing noises with our mouths, and that's the way it was, and we liked it!" (Dedicated to Dana Carvey, the original Grumpy Old Man)
UPDATE: I don't know why Blogger keeps deleting my YouTube embedding lately, but I've put it back in.

Do you long for the simpler days of Star Wars toys? Or are the modern Star Wars toys just way more awesome?
[Via YouTube]

2/25/2012

Nathan Fillion, who played Captain Mal Reynolds on the scif-fi/western series Firefly, has a new show called Castle about a writer who helps cops solve mysteries. To be honest, I've never seen it, because it's not sci-fi, but this clip makes me wish I had. Castle has apparently honored Fillion's old show quite a few times, but this one is the best and most blatant. In season two, during the Halloween episode "Vampire Weekend," Castle dressed up in a very familiar costume.

2. Motivational Geek Quote
"You know, Captain, every year of my life I grow more and more convinced
that the wisest and the best is to fix our attention on the good and the
beautiful. If you just take the time to look at it."
- Lt. Ray Makonnen The Phantom Planet (1961)

3. Award
This week the "Pied Piper Most Deserving Blog Follower" award goes to CineMarvelous for hitting 300 Followers! Are you following him? Nebular's a huge movie fan and I always find his reviews to the point and well thought out.

Rules: On your blog, name three bloggers you'd like to give it to that deserve their followers. They can be people with lots of followers or ones you think deserve more.

io9 asks us to Read Alien, retold from the cat's perspective Novelist and film critic Anne Billson wrote "My Day by Jonesy," a recap of the first Alien film from Jones' point of view. Apparently, Jones spent most of the film fretting over his food and being annoyed that the humans (or "can openers" as he calls them) keep waking him up from his naps. But he does take some interest in the xenomorph, which he refers to as the "hairless kitten."

In the most shocking story of the week, TheForce.Net says George Lucas Won At The NAACP Image Awards. I never really thought about how much of an influence Star Wars had on black culture before. He's the whitest guy I can think of, but he got one before I did. Booya Lucas.

Stuff

SuperPunch has a fantastic Shark sleeping bag that lets you pretend to be eaten by a shark. Not sure I'd get much sleep in it though.

As unappetizing as it looks, The Official Star Wars Blog says someone made Jabba the Cake!

Comic Book Resources has a story about Indiana Pacers Forward Danny Granger Building a Batcave. "It's based on the Batcave from the first set of Batman movies -- starting with Michael Keaton," Granger said. "It will have a few aspects from the Christian Bale movies, like a drive-in pathway or tunnel that lights up as you drive through it. It’ll also have this kind of circular island, where you park your car on this big circle, and the circle spins, so that you never have to back the car out." I am now a huge Indiana Pacers fan.

Alex J Cavanaugh has his monthly run-down of March Movies and it's slim pickings with the exception of John Carter and The Hunger Games.

Mania says Bay Confirms Transformers 4 Date There has been a lot of speculation about what I'm going to do next and when or if I will do another Transformers. So let me set the record straight.I have just concluded a deal with Paramount to do two movies, but it won't be two Transformers.I will first do 'Pain & Gain' with Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.Then I will do the next Transformers for release on June 29, 2014.-Michael Bay

4. Trivia Answer
"How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" from Star Trek: The Animated Series in 1975. The animated series of Star Trek won a Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Entertainment Children's Series"
for the 1974-1975 television season. It beat Captain Kangaroo and The Pink Panther. It's the only Star Trek franchise to win a "Best Series" Emmy.BonusQuestion: Which Shakespeare play did this title come from? What do you think of this week's news? Let us know in the comments.

2/23/2012

The economy is hitting everyone hard, and the Star Wars universe is no exception. So what would happen if characters from Star Wars had to advertise for their services? We think it would look something...like this.

Want more Star Wars ads? Any other Star Wars characters that should advertise? Let us know in the comments.[Image Source: geektwins]

Casting is a tricky thing. When it's good, it's great. When it's bad, it's awful. Christopher Reeve was the perfect Superman and casting genius, but the casting decisions haven't all been that good.

Some have been truly bizarre. From casting comedic actors in serious roles to serious actors with comedic acting skills the history of Superman films are littered with actors that just aren't right!

Here's a list of nine truly bizarre casting choices in recent history from the bizarre Nicholas Cage to the goofy Tim Allen.

9. Jon Cryer as Luthor's Nephew

The costar of Two and a Half Men starred in Superman IV as Lex Luthor's dimwitted nephew Lenny. Saying that Cryer overacted as the "Valley Boy" is an understatement. His irritating performance makes Damon Wayans look like Shakespeare.

8. Ashton Kutcher as Superman

The star of Punked almost punked us by starring in Superman. Brett Ratner wanted to cast him when he was slated to direct Superman Returns. Ashton went as far as filming a screentest. He himself said it was weird and his legs were "not proportionally right."It would have been "shibby."

7. Tim Allen as Brainiac

The star of Home Improvement was rumored to play the part of the evil computer Brainiac in the 1998 Kevin Smith version of Superman Lives. Since Allen has never played a villain, I can't imagine how awful that would have been.

6. Robert Downey Jr as Lex Luthor

When McG was developing his Superman film Superman: Flyby he was planning to castIron Man's Robert Downey Jr. as the villain Lex Luthor. McG gushed, "We had Robert Downey Jr. locked up to be Lex Luthor, which I think would have been extraordinary." This one's weird, but kind of makes sense. He has those big evil looking eyes.

5. Woody Harrelson as Jor-El

When Tim Burton was casting his famously bizarre Superman Lives, he was planning to cast Woody from Cheers as Superman's father Jor-El. He's a versatile actor, but I can't imagine him competing against Marlon Brando's performance.

4. Will Smith as Superman

Before Brandon Routh was cast in Superman Returns,
Will Smith was offered the roll. The change in ethnicity would have a
bizarre twist to the character. After playing the historically white
character of Jim West in Wild Wild Westhe turned the role down saying, "You mess up white people's heroes in Hollywood, you'll never work in this town again!"

3. Richard Pryor as a Computer Genius

In Superman III Richard Pryor played a computer genius responsible for creating the "super computer" that almost kills Superman. The character could have worked with a more serious actor. Instead, we got Pryor's mugging and giddiness. It's bizarre that he could use a computer with all the cocaine he was snorting.

2. Nicholas Cage as Superman

The star of such classics as Con Air and Raising Arizona was Tim Burton's number one choice for Clark Kent in Superman Lives. Cage was so dedicated to the role he named his son after Superman's Kryptonian name "Kal-El." Cage's bizarre antics and acting style would have been legendary as Superman.

1. Nick Nolte as Superman

Back in the 1970s many actors were considered for the role of superman before Christopher Reeve. The relatively unknown Nolte was a front runner for the role, but he turned it down because he wanted to play him as a clinical schizophrenic. After he said this, one interviewer laughed. Nolte glared at him and said, "No. I'm serious." Bizarre.

That's it! From the insane Nick Nolte to Will Smith there have been some bizarro Superman casting decisions. We'll always have Christopher Reeve.